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The Culture of Power and Explict Instruction

***The opinions and ideas expressed in this project are the sole opinion of Warren Wilson student, Fox Trowbridge, and do not represent the official opinions or ideas of the Education department at Warren Wilson College***

Introduction:

Lisa Delpit’s book Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom has become a staple read in teacher education.Delpit discusses her experiences as a progressive black educator and the implications and challenges faced. One of her most important points is derived from the personal strife caused by her African American students not gaining the skills necessary for success through her methods and the silenced voices from educators of color. She looks to explore why these issues arose and how to eradicate them.

For many students, there is a divide between the culture of their homes and communities and that of school, which generally reflects the white middle-class. This class makes up the Culture of Power with implied rules and codes that are often unconsciously assimilated from birth. The techniques that educators use are frequently unsuited for minority or impoverished students and do not adequately prepare these individuals for accomplishment in mainstream society.

It is important to realize that material can only be absorbed through culturally appropriate presentation. For students of color this often comes in the form of explicit, directive teaching techniques and skills based lessons.

Aspects of theCulture of Power:

·"Issues of power are enacted in classrooms.

·There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a 'culture of power.'

·The rules of the culture power are a reflection of the culture of those who have power.

·If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier.

·Those with power are frequently least aware of--or least willing to acknowledge--its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence." (Delpit, p. 24)

Many teacher education programs are faulted for not providing future educators with skill and strategy based instruction. The internalized comprehension strategies that educators utilize themselves must be reflected upon and translated for students (Kamil, 2008).

“"Research tells us that the more explicit we are about procedures, the more likely children will use the strategy on their own and acquire and use it successfully (Paratore,2003).

"Literacy, how it is defined, who gets to employ it, and for what ends, is always culturally contextual” (Williams, 2008).

Linguists have found fascination in the “multiple englishes” being developed throughout the world as the U.S. expands globalization. These variations of language are due not simply to lack of proper education, but the inherent morphing to needs, uses, and cultures employing it. On top of this is an intentional resistance to the oppressor that has historically been noted in Native Indian and African American societies (Williams, 2008).The notion of a uniform language and culture, as promoted by schools and the larger government, has long been used as a means of suppression for many populations. A South African educator notes that it continues “to be a struggle to get students

whose cultures had been discounted and marginalized to value their own experiences and trust

schools as places where they could learn without forfeiting their identities" (Williams, 2008).

Practical Application and Lesson Plan Ideas:

(Williams, 2008)discourse on cross-cultural communication:

History of foreign literacy: Beyond Pen Pal’s

-When Reading and writing first emerged

-Historical access to literacy and education

-Structure of schooling

-What forms of writing have developed

These practices are effective when students are given a chance to reflect after intercultural communications.

Possible questions: “Who has power? Who decides

what is correct, what is acceptable, and what is

persuasive? How did they think about the identities

they wanted to present in their writing?”

Critical Literacy

“As a theory, critical literacy espouses that education can foster social justice by allowing students to recognize how language is affected by and affects social relations” (Behrman, 2006).

Students are taught to recognize the charged nature of language, how language articulates power dynamics, and are forced to examine their own production and reception of language.

While advocates agree that Critical Literacy expands both theory and practice, most are resistant to prescribe any set curricula for what it should look like (Behrman, 2006). After all, Critical Literacy is meant to be highly adaptive and fluctuate with need, locality, and intent.

Elementary teachers utilizing Critical Literacy often find that supplementary reading such as fiction, nonfiction, journals, newspapers, and popular culture articles must round out basal readers. Juvenile fiction and young adult novels allow for discussion of societal problems and personal issues relevant to the age group.

After choosing stimulating texts, teachers encourage students to peel apart layers on meaning and scrutinize how their perceptions might differ from those of another identity. Factors influencing this identity include race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, language, customs, and geographic location.

Students may be given free range to choose a topic of study on which to perform extensive research. The only requirement is that it be a problem or topic of study with social and cultural influences behind it. Doing this allows for students to become connected to and gain control of their own education. This teaches pupils that all topics are legitimate areas of study, while the focus on social action forces pupils to recognize themselves as part of a larger community (Behrman, 2006).

Behrman notes that the majority of Critical Literacy is taught from an authoritative rather than negotiated style and questions the motivation and effectiveness. He argues that it is ironic to and even hypocritical to present content emphasizing equity in this manner. However, I believe that being an adult leader need not be seen as a negative or oppressive position and is most often what students need for optimum learning, particularly in the context of African American pupils.

The following questions are suggested by Berhman as applicable to Critical Literacy across all areas of curriculum and age:

• How does specific text content gain acceptance

and prominence?

• What counts as “true” within the discipline,

and who makes that determination? Why?

• How do particular text genres gain acceptance

and prominence?

• What are considered “legitimate” modes of

inquiry within the discipline?

• How do the content, genres, and modes of

inquiry within a discipline affect the social

relations of participants in the disciplinary

community?

L. Henry has outlined an extensive lesson plan outlined on readwritethink.org in which students read two versions of various fairy tales. The students then complete compare and contrast diagrams followed by retelling the stories from the perspective of an alternative character or inanimate object, referred to as counter texts (Henry, 2002).